Clockwork City
by AuntiePinki
Summary: When Tessa ventures back to America from the United Kingdom. In all her time travelling, she had never dared go back because she had promised Jem that she would take him there someday. Now that he's back, she has no choice but to take him back to the place she was born. New York City...
1. Introduction

Due to the characters nature's to speak in random different languages when they feel like it, I have attempted to copy that. I will put the translations somewhere around them, but I cannot say that they are correct. Any language used other than English will have been put through Google Translate, so I apologise in advance for any mistakes and if anyone would like to leave a comment correcting my mistakes then I will be more than grateful.


	2. Chapter 1 : Going Home

"All passengers boarding the 707 flight to the USA, the flight is about to leave from gate 3. Thank you."

This announcement came before one about leaving baggage unattended and one about a car that had been abandoned in the parking lot, but the first announcement was the only one of importance to Tessa and Jem as they ran though the airport, luggage in hand and passports in mouths. Tessa's clockwork angel bouncing on her chest.

"Wait!" Jem shouted at an attendant who was just about to close the doors.

"I'm sorry Sir; only passengers are allowed past this gate." He said, pulling the door shut and walking to the desk.

"We are passengers. I need to get on that flight to go home." Breathlessly Tessa caught up, thickening her American accent as she got close.

"Ah, apologies miss." The man smiled and walked back to the doors. He opened them and smiled as they walked past, offering to help with Tessa's rucksack.

"How did you do that?" Jem asked under his breath. Tessa smiled wider.

"I'm a lady James. We can get what we want when we want it. Magnus' training also helps."

Jems hand slipped into Tessa's as they crossed the bridge onto the plane. The plane was already full, there were toddlers shouting and kicking as their parents attempted to strap them into their seats whilst the old people complained loudly to each other in the way that only old people can manage. Tessa squeezed Jems hand as they walked down the cramped isle of the plane to their seats. Tessa had insisted they sit by the window so that she could show Jem the city of New York from above, to which Jem complained that he wanted to sit in the middle away from the windows and away from the idea of what they were about to do.

"I've never been on a plane before." Jem had said when Tessa mentioned the idea of planes rather than on a boat - which had always made her feel a little ill.

"You were a Silent Brother for a hundred years Jem. I wouldn't have expected you to have ever been on a plane." Tessa had shouted back from the hotel bathroom.

"And you're sure it's safe?" He asked for the millionth time.

"Yes James." She'd replied.

"I'm still not sure that this is a good idea," he said now, taking Tessa's rucksack and putting it up in the overhead hold.

"So you'd rather stay here where your best friend died where all your bad memories are, than start afresh with me in the place I grew up?" Tessa asked, grabbing for Jem's hand and pulling him into the seat next to her.

"It's where the good memories are as well you know…" he added, sitting down. Tessa found herself rubbing two fingers along the clockwork angel around her neck for comfort.

"Well, it's too late; you're on the plane now." He smiled and she kissed his check before fastening her seatbelt.

It was a nightmare. When they took off, Jem's ears popped and he freaked out because he couldn't hear anything. The flight was bumpy. Every time something pinged on the plane Jem had a heart attack and the people on the row on the other side of the isle chuckled. Tessa coaxed him into watching a film, but he couldn't settle. He was either constantly looking over Tessa and out of the window to make sure we weren't hurtling to our deaths, or reminding Tessa of how mental this was and how much Will would have loved it. Tessa had laughed the first time he had jumped when the child behind them kicked his chair, but now she was as annoyed as he was. Eventually she turned around and asked the parent if they would please tell their child to pack it in, the parent had simply chuckled and said "_kids, what are we going to do about them 'ey?"_. She had then used a very un-lady like word - that made Jem blush - and sat back down in her chair, arms folded.

When the plane came into land, Jem had looked over at Tessa, who grinned.

"You're going home Tess." He said, taking her hand.

"My home is with you now." She said, echoing what he had said years before. He smiled at her, leaned in and kissed her. She kissed him back, but froze when he did. Her first thought was that someone was watching them, but then he pulled away and she saw that he was looking out of the window. It was nightfall in New York and Times Square was lit up like a Christmas tree. Jem's eyes reflected the glow of the lights as the plane banked left to line up to the runway. Slowly, the plane descended - Jems ears popped again and after a few minutes of panic, he was offered a mint to suck on - and Tessa felt more at home as the tarmac loomed into view. The wheels came down beneath their feet and touched the tarmac with a bump. A few children shouted out in surprise and an old lady in the chair in front jumped awake, but Tessa was itching to get up and get off.

In all the time that she had spent travelling, she had never ventured back to the USA, never mind back to New York. That was something that she'd always wanted to do with Jem, and something that she thought she'd never do. She wondered what they'd do when they arrived, but Jem promised he had it all in hand and that they'd meet with someone when they arrived who would take them to where they'd be staying. Tessa had no idea where they'd be going or who they were going to meet, but by the time she'd; gotten off the plane, collected her baggage, and stepped out into the humid night, she had forgotten all her worries.

She was standing outside by the taxi stop when Jem slipped his hand into hers; she turned around and kissed him. He was smiling beneath the kiss and Tessa couldn't help but smile back. When she broke the kiss, her face went bright red. Standing behind Jem was a woman with inky black hair and a thin wiry build smiled at Tessa, who stepped backwards away from Jem and smiled politely back at the woman.

"Hi, my name is Maryse Lightwood," the woman said, holing out her hand.

"Lightwood?" Tessa confirmed, smiling slightly to herself and taking the womans hand. "My name is Tessa Gr-Carstairs. It's nice to meet you Maryse."

"And you must be James Carstairs?" Maryse asked, offering her hand to Jem.

"Jem." He corrected, shaking her hand. Maryse smiled and looked between them.

"So, are we going to idle about here, or shall we head off?" Maryse asked, still smiling, "I have a car waiting in the parking lot."

She turned and headed off, expecting Tessa and Jem to follow. Just before they did, Jem leaned into Tessa and said, under his breath,

"Tessa _Carstairs_?"

"Well, we were about to get married until I got myself kidnapped and you turned into a silent brother." She teased, poking his shoulder. He mock staggered backwards and then grabbed her hand again. She laughed and they followed Maryse towards the parking lot.

They were in Maryse's car for twenty minutes until they reached their destination. Great spires of a cathedral with gleaming windows. Tessa pressed herself up against the window, eager to see more of the building.

"I can't believe you never saw the institute whilst growing up Tessa." Maryse said, tuning a corner as a man with dark black clothes and ginger hair pulled open a set of gates.

"Well, I never knew what I was looking for." Tessa said, in awe. "This place is amazing."

"I've never been to the one in the UK, how different is it?" Maryse asked, Jem answered from the passenger seat,

"Not too different, it's a little smaller I think though,"

"Ah," Maryse nodded, winding down the window, "You can lock up Frazer! I don't think anyone else will be coming or going tonight,"

The man - Frazer - nodded and took a key from his pocket. Jem watched as he put the key in the lock and turned it to the right before shaking the metal gates to make sure they were locked tight. They shook and made a loud rattling noise.

"For someone growing up here, you seem not to have an American accent." Maryse observed.

"I'm immortal. I've lived in the UK for 150 years, so I think I must have picked up the accent." Tessa laughed.

"Immortal?" Maryse asked, "Are you a Downworlder?"

"No." Tessa said, shaking her head. "I'm half Daemon and half Shadowhunter." Maryse's eyes widened,

"That was our reaction too." Jem said, joining the girls around the other side of the car.

"How is that possible?" Maryse asked, rubbing her hand on her head.

"Not sure, but it is." Jem said, unzipping his jacket.

"Well," Maryse said, returning to Earth from her thoughts, "let's get inside before it drops chilly"

"It gets chilly here?" Jem asked Tessa as Maryse opened the doors.

"Yes James, a strange magic is at work here," Tessa laughed.


	3. Chapter 2 : The Institute

They walked into the main hall of the institute and Tessa looked around. Like all institutes, this one was built on hallowed ground. The church had stained glass windows some depicted with the Virgin Mary, others with Jesus and one with the Clave's symbol of four interlocking letter C's. Maryse had pressed a button on an elevator and it clanged to meet them. Maryse ushered Jem and Tessa into it and they clanged upwards.

The inside of the institute was basically the same as in the UK, Tessa and Jem followed Maryse into the kitchen where two boys sat throwing little objects across the table at each other, whilst a girl shouted at them to stop it. The girl looked just like Maryse, but she had a rounder face and longer limbs. When Tessa saw her, she was reminded - with a pang of grief - of Jessamine. Frazer came into the room behind them and offered Tessa and Jem a drink.

"Yes please Frazer, I'd fallen asleep when the attendants came past with the trolley." Tessa said, turning around as Maryse began shouting at the boys. Tessa heard the chairs scrape across the tiled floor and turned back around to see them leaving. The blonde one punched the dark haired one on the side and he fell sideways into the wall, before pushing the blonde one again. They continued this banter all the way down the narrow corridor that Tessa assumed must have once been a servant's corridor. They reminded Tessa of when Will and Jem used to do when Jem was in good health that day and Will was taking advantage of it. She looked at Jem in order to share the memory and saw his face had paled. Impulsively, she grabbed his hand to secretly check his pulse. It was racing.

"Jem," I said, putting my other hand on his shoulder, Maryse turned around. "Jem, can you hear me?"

"Jem?" Maryse walked forwards and pulled out a chair.

"Please, Jem!" I begged, getting worried. His face was getting paler and I feared he might pass out…

"Is he okay?" The girl asked, walking over to us. Jem sat down his eyes wide and his fists clenched. He was tense all over. "He looks like he's seen a ghost," she observed.

"Who-who is that boy?" Jem stuttered.

"Jace and Alec," Maryse said, handing Jem a glass of water.

"Tess, did you see him?" Jem asked pushing the glass away. Tessa had never seen him this terrified.

"See who?" She asked, pushing the glass back at him.

"_Will_."

Then he collapsed forwards, Tessa did her best to catch him, but he was too heavy for her to support him on her own. She sat down and cradled Jem's head in her lap.

"Frazer, help Tessa carry Jem to their room." Maryse said and Frazer lifted the unconscious Jem into his arms.

Tessa followed Frazer and Jem down the corridor and nearly tripped over a grey cat outside the door. It looked oddly familiar but Tessa was too busy paying attention to Jem to notice that it was following them.

Maryse knocked on the door of her room twenty minutes later to find Tessa curled up on the seat beside Jem's bed. She smiled when Maryse came in and got up out of the chair to offer it to her.

"Tessa, I do apologise-"

"What for?" Tessa interrupted, Maryse hung her head, "Exactly, don't apologise for something if you didn't know what happened. Jem's probably got jet lag, he'll be okay."

Maryse nodded. "We don't get many visitors," she said, looking around the room. "I asked everyone to help clear this room of boxes and dust before you got here," Tessa ran a finger along the dresser, it came up covered in dust. "I guess they just cleared out the boxes."

They both laughed. "Maryse, do you run this institute all by yourself?" Tessa asked, Maryse shook her head.

"No, my husband runs it with me, he's in Idris at the moment. I don't suppose you know what that is though, do you?"

"Yes," Tessa smiled, "Will was always talking about it. He'd only been two or three times in his life but every time he went he begged the Clave to let me come with him. They refused." Her smile fell.

"But they approved of your marriage to Jem didn't they?" Maryse asked and Tessa smiled again.

"Yes, but I was a special case." She sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching for Jems hand.

"The man who lives here - Frazer - is he your servant?" Tessa asked, feeling out of place to do so but doing it anyway.

"No," Maryse said, shaking her head slightly, "he's the boys' tutor."

"Oh, I've been trained you know. If I wasn't a Downworlder then I would have been able to Ascend. The marks though, they'd kill me." Tessa traced her finger over a strength rune scar on Jems wrist.

"You can join the boys in their training if you wish. The both of you. Clary is being trained at the moment so you'd probably be on the same level." Maryse offered.

"Thank you. I won't take you up on the offer, but Jem might. I'll tell him when he wakes." With that, Maryse nodded and left the room.

Tessa was getting tired of sitting by Jem's bedside when he was unconscious. All though out their life together, Tessa had been swapping places with Will when Jem had fallen ill again, this time there was no Will to take over for her when she got too sleepy to keep watch. Instead, she dressed for bed and climbed under the sheets with Jem, curling up to his side, and falling asleep. She woke to Jem laughing softly in her ear. She rolled over and they fell asleep again in each other's arms.

They woke again at midday when Frazer had banged on the door telling them that Maryse wanted to talk to them, then apologising for the rudeness. Tessa laughed and pushed Jem out of the bed to wake him up. His Shadowhunter reactions took over and he was soon up and pinning Tessa down on the bed before she could laugh.

"Never push a Shadowhunter out of bed. Never." He said, gasping. Tessa lay shocked for a moment, then he kissed her and she laughed again.

Half an hour later, Jem and Tessa walked into the study hand in hand. The boys were there as well as the girl which led Tessa to believe that they - like Maryse - lived in the institute.

"Ah, Tessa, Jem." Maryse said, standing up from behind her large oak desk. She smiled warmly at them, "This is Jace and Alec, and here is Isabelle." The dark haired boy - Alec - looked like Maryse and must have been her son, the girl - Isabelle - looked like him too. The other boy - Jace - gave Tessa a heart attack. Her hands flew to her mouth when he turned and for a moment Jem was the only think holding her upright.

"Hi, I'm Jace." He said, stepping forwards. Tessa just stared at him.

"Jace, what have you done?" Alec said, standing beside Jace and smiling stupidly at him.

"Sorry, I have that effect on women, even the married ones." Jace indicated Jem standing next to her.

"Shut your mouth Jace before your head gets even bigger than it already is." Isabelle snapped at him.

Tessa felt tears in her hands and she turned around to stare at Jem who was as white faced as the previous night.

"_Will_. Tessa, he's just like Will." Jem said, sitting her down.

"Who's Will?" Jace asked.

"An old friend." Jem said, without turning.

"Do I know you?" Jace asked looking at Jem closely.

"No." Jem said, curtly, kneeling in front of Tessa, who still had her hands over her mouth and was now crying. "Tess, listen to me. It's not Will. You know that."

Tessa stood up, tears still running down her face. "Jace." She said and Jace seemed to cower slightly. "If you trace your family back then you find that your family are originally from Wales. They lived there until their eldest son Will-" Tessa gasped and Jems arms went around her. They rocked back and forth whilst Tessa tried to regain control of herself. She opened her eyes to see the concerned faces of Alec and Maryse, Isabelle was talking in fast whispers to Jace who had his back to them and was gesturing with his hands. Tessa muttered an excuse to Jem and walked away from the room, she managed to find her way back to the room she and Jem shared before she broke down in sobs.

Tessa had refused to leave their room and it was up to Jem to utter the apologies - and explanations - of what had happened. Which had not been fun.

Jem walked into the room with his hands in his jeans pockets and the minute he did, the room fell quiet. Jace was sitting on the arm of a chair whilst Alec leaned over the back of it, Isabelle and Maryse were leaning over papers on the desk with a new girl there with them who introduced herself as Clary. She had stood up and offered her apologies on behalf of Jace about scaring Tessa, she seemed friendly and Jem felt bad that she felt she needed to apologise.

"Don't worry about Tessa, she's okay." Jem said, taking a seat on the sofa next to the door.

"She seemed very scared," Maryse said, wringing her hands together. "I hope that we didn't do anything to offend her."

"No, you didn't. He did," Jem pointed at Jace. Clary stepped in front of him.

"Why?" She demanded, all sense of her friendliness gone.

"It's not his fault." Jem reassured and Clary relaxed slightly, "It's just that he's a Herondale, aren't you?"

"Lightwood." Jace told him. Jem raised an eyebrow.

"Don't be smart with me. I know the Herondale line. I've followed it closely for a hundred and fifty years." Jem said, putting his head in his hands and staring at the floor, waiting for the onslaught of questions. It started with Jace.

"You're a Shadowhunter. I can see your marks. I can also see scars on your face which show old marks, special marks. I'm not stupid. You were a Silent Brother. Weren't you?"

Jem didn't speak, but was surprised he got it this quickly. He stood up and smiled.

"Who are you?" Maryse demanded. "You write to me asking for a place to stay, telling me you were a Shadowhunter and that you were an old friend of my family and that you wanted to bring your girlfriend home. Then you turn up with an immortal girl who has your surname and no mark of the Downworld, then you claim to be watching my son's family line for a hundred years and you're clearly not of age yet. Who are you and why are you here?"

Jem stared at her for a moment then let out a breath of laughter that made Clary reach of the blade on her belt.

"You may know me better as Brother Zachariah. I remember sitting in the corner of the room when you brought Clary in for her mind to be unblocked. I do not remember much of it all, but I remember some." Jem said, sitting back down. "You are correct Maryse, I am not of age yet, but due to my being a Silent Brother, I didn't age. Tessa, well we do not know what she is. The Clave, however, approved of our marriage even though she is not a Shadowhunter."

"Is she a Downworlder?" Clary asked, she still had a hand at her belt.

"Yes." Tessa said, coming into the room. "I'm sorry, seeing W-Jace was a bit of a shock."

"Who's Will?" Jace asked again, taking Clary's hand off the hilt of her dagger.

"Will was an old friend of ours. He rescued me from where two demons kept me prisoner." Tessa said, lifting her chin. "I came in here to ask a favour of you, Mrs Lightwood-"

"Maryse," She corrected. Tessa looked taken aback.

"Sorry, I thought-I'm-I mean-"

"Why don't you go back to our room, darling." Jem said. He'd moved so fast and so quietly that Tessa nearly jumped when Jem put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a pleading smile that said _let me deal with them_. Tessa nodded and turned around to leave.

"That cat," she said, standing in the doorframe, "He's called Church."

"Church?!" Jem said, running to the door. The cat leapt at him. Jace rushed forwards to pry the cat of Jems face, but stopped abruptly when he saw that the cat was licking Jem's face instead of clawing at it. Jem was stroking the cat's head and looked like he'd never been happier.

"Do you two know each other?" Alec said from behind Jem who turned around with Church in his arms.

"I rescued him," Jem said proudly, "He was being used as a sacrifice in the Black's prostitute house and I saved him." He looked around the room proudly, then realised he'd admitted to being in a prostitute house. "No! I wasn't in there for myself, I was in there trying to kill the demon that ran it! There was no one else there!"

Jace was laughing, as was Alec, they were leaning against each other to keep upright.

"Ah, you hear him Alec?" Jace said, still laughing,

"I'm sure we can believe him," Alec said, clapping a hand on Jace's shoulder.

"But, he said there was no one there to vouch for him. Or was there someone there and _she_ would probably vouch for him!" Jace was crying laughing. Clary hit him.

"I'm sorry. Jonathan and Alexander can be very immature when the word sex is used." As if to echo this point, they started laughing even more. "They're like children." Clary shook her head.

"Are they all your children Maryse?" Jem asked, though he knew that Alec and Jace couldn't possibly be brothers because they looked so close in age,

"No," Maryse said, "Isabelle, Alec and M-" She stopped, as did everyone else. Jem politely dropped his gaze. "Isabelle and Alec are my children." She said again.

Jem was about to say something back, he didn't know what but he had a feeling that she was about to say another name of a child, when Frazer ran down the hall screaming "VAMPIRES AT THE DOOR!"


	4. Chapter 3 : Parabatai

Alec and Jace ran down to the main hall, followed closely by Jem and behind him Clary. There was someone stood by the doors when the elevator opened up to let them out. They turned at the sound and smiled, showing piercing white fangs. Jem stopped and Clary walked into him, he wanted to turn and utter an apology, but the vampire stood in front of him required all his concentration. How was he in the Institute? How was he on hallowed ground? Jace had approached the vampire and was talking in low whispers, using his hands to emphasise points that he was making. Jem watched him as he interacted with the vampire, wondering how this was possible. When Jace walked back to them he shrugged at Alec, "He wanted us to help with the vampire _killings_" Jace used used quotation marks in the air when he said _killings_.

"Oh, so it's not just disappearances now is it?" Clary said, walking back to the elevator.

"Nope," Jace said, following Clary.

"So, why aren't we doing anything? Isn't it against the Accords not to act?" Jem asked Alec, who shrugged.

"The first time they came, we dispatched a team of Shadowhunters to Hotel Dumont and found nothing," Alec confessed, walking over to the elevator, Jem followed,

"Of course you'd find nothing. If someone is capturing and killing vampires without wanting attention drawn to them then they'd burn them in the sunlight. It's not difficult to knock out a vampire and stick them in Central Park." Jem said, and Alec stopped in his tracks.

"That," he said, thinking it though in his head, "is a very good point. I'll talk to Jace." Jem smiled, glad to have helped. "Are you joining us for training later?"

"Sure, Tessa mentioned it this morning - well, this afternoon." Jem laughed and followed Alec into the elevator.

"Well, me and Jace will be in the training room from three," Alec told him as the elevator clanged upwards. "There's gear in your room, some for Tessa as well if she wants to join us,"

"Thanks, but I don't think she will. I'll let her know that the offers on the table."

At three o'clock, Jem made his way up to the training room in his gear. When he got there, he took a dagger from the wall rack and began to get the feel of it. He practised throwing it up in the air and catching it point down, then threw it lightly across the room where it collided with the wall but not with enough force to embed it, as it fell to the ground next to the target board that he was roughly aiming at. Someone cleared their throat behind Jem and he turned to see Alec and Jace in gear pants and a white training top. Suddenly, Jem felt small. Jace was well built and muscular with marks standing out under his shirt. Alec too was muscular, but he was taller in height, allowing his muscle to spread out. Jace picked up a bow and handed it to Alec, who already had arrows on his back.

"Sorry we're late," Alec said, tightening the bow string, "Jace is in a mood."

"I am not in a mood." Jace snapped, Jem tried to hide a smile.

"See?" Alec pointed at Jace over his shoulder before walking over to Jem and swapping him the dagger for a seraph blade. The pair didn't name their blades because they were only sparing, but Jem felt the rush of battle all the same.

In the time that they were fighting, Tessa and Clary turned up and when Jem's seraph blade was knocked out if his hand, Tessa picked it up and advanced on Alec. At first he was taken aback when she swung at him with a smile, but quickly got back into the game and Tessa managed to knock the blade from his hand, Clary picked it up and brought her own with her, advancing on Tessa, who laughed and battled on. Jem and Jace found themselves sat on the bench whilst Alec - who had taken his blade back - and Clary battled Tessa.

"They're good," Jem observed as Tessa dodged a blow from Alec and managed to swing at Clary at the same time.

"Yeah, your Tessa should have been s Shadowhunter," Jace took out a dagger and was playing with it in his hands,

"If she wasn't a Downworlder then maybe," Jem said, "How far can you throw that thing?"

Jace lifted the dagger to eye level, "Farthest I've thrown it is all the way across the room,"

Jem looked to the other side of the room, "Did it stick?" He pointed at the mats on the wall.

Jace was about to respond when Alec cried out and grabbed his shoulder. In a flash, Jace was up and at Alec's side. Alec was muttering that he was okay, but Jem could see the blood. Jace turned on Tessa,

"If you don't like him, you didn't have to hit him with your blade!"

Jem got up, "Hey, it wasn't her fault,"

"He's right Jace, it was mine," Alec said, his face was very pale, "I caught Tessa unaware and she reacted instinctively,"

"Clary, did you see what happened?" Jace asked, ignoring Alec completely.

"Yeah, like Alec said, he caught Tessa and Tessa caught him." Clary put herself between Tessa and Jace, "It was an accident."

Jace wasn't having any of it. Jem couldn't understand, he knew that Alec and Jace were close friends but it was an accident, why was he this wound up?

"Why are you so wound up about this?" Alec asked, removing his hand from his shoulder, Jem saw a rune there that had only just been missed,

"Because I'm your _Parabatai_ Alexander," He shot a sideways look at Jem, "not that you'd understand that." He directed at Jem, who had had enough. He'd had enough 150 years ago when Will was constantly changing moods, now that Jace was a clear carbon copy Jem found himself getting very angry.

"You want to know how far I can though this?" He picked up his dagger from the bench and threw it across the room, it landed point in the mat and quivered there. "Be thankful that it's not you down there."

Jace took Alec's arm and put it over his shoulder to help Alec out of the room. Tessa looked pale faced at Jem from behind Clary and shook her head, knowing what Jem was about to do when he realised he was holding a dagger of his own in his hand. He threw it. Jace didn't move, didn't duck. Alec jumped slightly, but stopped when Jace did. Turning his head sideways, Jace saw the dagger where it had hit. There was a wooden pillar that they were passing at the time Jem threw the dagger, and now the dagger was stuck in it up to the hilt.

"Be thankful that it wasn't you down there." Jem echoed. "Calm yourself down before you get in trouble."

Alec pulled Jace and they both began walking again. Tessa started to follow, but then turned around and went out of one of the other doors.

Jem went back to his and Tessa's room, expecting to find her there after checking the library, the kitchen and gardens, but she wasn't their either. Checking his watch, he saw that it was nearly five o'clock and dinner would be cooked soon - then he realised that it wasn't the 1900's and that he was probably going to be eating something deep-fried from the fast food restaurant over the road. Either way, he wandered towards the kitchen where he ran into the one person he didn't want to run into, Jace.

"How's Alec?" Jem asked, not looking at the other boy, but he could feel Jace's glare on him.

"Fine. Healing rune and he was all fixed." Jem looked up and nodded, "look, I wanted to tell you that-"

"No," Jem shook his head, understanding Jace as he understood Will

Jace shrugged "Still, I shouldn't have shouted at you like that, but I don't think you understand what having a _Parabatai _is like. Seeing them hurt hurts you."

"I know," Jem said, nodding

"But you don't, you can't know." Jace shook his head

Jem took off his jacket and pulled the sleeve down off his shoulder revealing where the _Parabatai _mark had once been. Jace gasped.

"I do understand." Jem repeated. "I understand more than you do."

Jace shrunk back and lowered his eyes as Jem dressed himself again. "What happened?" He asked as Jem walked past him.

"He died." Jem said, not telling the truth, Jace caught up with him.

"How?"

"I'd rather not-" Jem started, feeling uncomfortable, but was cut off by a sharp cry.

"Jace!" Someone screamed, and the two boys ran down the hall as fast as they could towards the library. Jem knew, before Jace pushed the door open, what must be wrong. Tessa.


	5. Chapter 4 : Starting Over?

*Quick little thing - There is a slightly mature thing at the end of this chapter - people under 12 I wouldn't advise reading.

Tessa sat outside on the roof of the institute, looking out at New York City. The darkness of night rendered most of New York invisible, but Tessa could still make out the lights of the large buildings. Her breath fogged up around her and she shivered slightly despite being wrapped up in a warm coat. The light was on in the room behind her and cast a long shadow across the tiles of the roof. Birds flew past and Tessa followed them with her eyes, wondering what it'd be like to spread your wings and fly off the way a bird does. She could hear voices behind her, and knew that they were talking about her. About what had happened. Tessa's eyes felt heavy and she picked up the caffeine rich coffee next to her. Wrapping her hands around it, she felt warmer. Lifting it to her lips, she took a sip and felt the warmth of the liquid fill her body. Footsteps signalled the arrival of Jem. He sat down beside her and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Let's take a walk." He said.

Central Park was not how Tessa remembered it. There were a lot more people. Admittedly, the last time that she'd been was when she had gone with her brother back when things were normal. They'd had a picnic on some rocks by a lake. After a walk around some of the open spaces, Tessa directed them there.

"Where are we going?" Jem asked when Tessa grabbed his hand and lead him off the road.

"The Lake." She said, smiling to herself.

"What's it called?" He asked, stopping at a map. Jem had never liked to walk too far from the institute, not without Will.

"The lake," Tessa pointed at it on the map, "Is called The Lake."

"How imaginative?!" Jem said, laughing.

"I know," Tessa went up on her toes to kiss Jem's face, he blushed, and she laughed again.

It only took them a few minutes - well, it would have done if Jem hadn't stopped every few seconds to stare at something he'd never seen before, or laugh at a duck - to get there and when they did, Tessa ran up the rocks and down the other side to the water's edge. She sat down there and took off her shoes and socks before dipping them into the water.

"Is that safe?" Jem asked, sitting down beside her and taking off his own shoes. He wasn't wearing socks.

"Probably not." Tessa said, Jem pulled his feet back under him. "I know you coaxed me out here to talk about what happened. I told him that I was sorry."

"I know, and he's forgiven you. The person who hasn't is-"

"Clary, and because of that Jace won't forgive me, or you." Tessa observed. She looked at him and saw how utterly lost he was.

"Tessa, you've lived all these years alone, I've been hidden away with the Silent Brothers and I don't remember much if anything. I feel like a child wandering around trying to find their feet. Having people look like the ghost of others makes it worse, and having those people hate me because you attack their girlfriends best friend doesn't help either."

"Jem, he was in the institute. Don't you understand that!" Tessa shouted, a few people walked past the rocks behind them and giggled loudly. Tessa saw Jem's hands curl into fists.

"He was given express permission from the Clave. You shouldn't have jumped him like that." Jem's hands didn't relax when the people had gone.

"Jem, this is hard for me too. I've been alone all these years, like you said. Having you back was the best thing that happened to me, but seeing Jace brought back memories of everything. I heard him yesterday night. You'd gone to sleep and I'd woken from a nightmare, I heard voices outside and pressed my ear against the door. It was Alec and Jace."

"What were they saying?" Jem asked, a look of concern had grown on his face when Tessa mentioned that she'd had a nightmare.

"Jace was talking about the ducks that had landed on the roof and how the glamor must not work on them. He was asking Alec if there was a rune to keep ducks away. Alec said no, and that he guessed Jace wouldn't be going on the room anytime soon. Jace had said that he wouldn't, not when there were blood thirsty beasts making residence on it." Tessa felt tears at the backs of her eyes, but she had never yet cried in front of Jem and she wasn't about to do it now.

"Tessa, I have an idea." Jem said, unfazed about the Herondale hatred of ducks, "We forget about them. About everything and start fresh. Will is not Jace. Will is dead. We watched him die."

The harshness shocked Tessa but she nodded anyway. "Jem, it's harder when you're immortal. We lose everyone."

"Then you'll need to get over it more than I do." Tessa gasped and stood up.

"How can you say that?" Tessa demanded, "How can you say that about your blood brother?!"

Jem shook his head and that pushed Tessa off her metaphorical cliff. She turned around, picking up her shoes as she went, and ran off. Jem was about to follow her, but he knew better. When she was in a betrayed mood then she preferred to be on her own. The the realisation came that he didn't know his way around New York. He got up and began walking to where Tessa had run off.

"TESSA!" Jem screamed as he ran across the library towards Tessa.

She had a knife in her hand and it was pressed up to the neck of someone who had fallen backwards against a wall. Their hands were up in surrender, but Tessa wasn't letting go.

"Tessa! Listen to me!" Jem shouted, clapping a hand on Tessa's shoulder, it was tense with fear. The person pressed against the wall was a boy with dark hair, the knife at his throat gleamed threateningly.

"Who are you!" Tessa screamed, "How are you in here! Jem he's a vampire!"

"Clary, get her off me!" The boy said, reaching up to grab Tessa's arm.

"Tess!" Jem tried again, but stopped when a gun shot went off.

"Miss Theresa Please remove the knife from Mr Simon Lewis' throat. I'm sure he'd rather you didn't remove his head from his body." Said a voice that followed.

Jem bolt upright in bed and knocked the covers from him. Tessa wasn't at his side and the clock on the table beside him read 3:36 am. His heart began to slow as he remembered that everything was okay, nothing bad had happened. Out of pure habit, Jem found himself reaching for his violin and tuning the strings. He sat down on the edge of his bed, holding onto it but not playing. A thought of Tessa crossed his mind and he opened the door to the hallway and found himself looking for Tessa's door before remembering that he wasn't in the London institute, he looked down the hall and felt something pull him to the library on the floor below.

It was empty of people and Jem smiled as he realised what drew him here. The acoustics in the London institute were always rubbish and Will had insisted he play in there because he couldn't hear it. Jem sat down by one of the windows and put the violin on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and put the bow to the stings and rocked it backwards and forwards, his fingers searching for the perfect tune. He swayed with his music and stood up to put more feeling into his music. He played a song of Wales, of rivers and mountains, of a small house in a field with a broken family. He played of London, of high building and even higher inhabitants. He played of America, of hot steamy weather and groggy jet lag. Finally, he played of Tessa, of her long hair, small face and the clockwork angel that had saved her life.

When he stopped and opened his eyes, he found that he wasn't alone in the library anymore.

"Magnus Bane." Jem said, without turning around from the window. "Do you make a habit of sneaking up on people?"

"You're easy to sneak up on." Magnus retorted and Jem turned around. "Quite a performance you put on there."

Jem wasn't sure if he was talking about playing the violin, or Tessa's outburst earlier that afternoon so he just nodded.

"I assume Tessa's okay." Magnus said, creating two glasses of brownish liquid on the table next to him.

"She's fine," Jem said, taking one of the glasses offered to him.

"Ah, so that's why I found her out crying on the front steps…" He said, swilling his drink around in the glass, apparently absentmindedly.

"She is?" Jem asked, worried.

"No, I just wanted to know if she was really okay. I gage - by your reaction - that she is not, in fact, okay." Magnus took chucked the liquid back in one go. Jem stared at his and threw it back also, then almost gagged.

"Not a whiskey drinker?" Magnus asked amusement playing across his features.

"Never touched the stuff." Jem said, coughing loudly. He turned around and put his hand to his mouth in an attempt to stop the coughing fit. He doubled over and put his hands on his knees, expecting to throw up. Magnus came over to him and helped him upright, the amusement replaced with concern. Jem stood upright and when he looked down, he saw spots of blood on his jeans.

"I'll fetch Tessa," Magnus said, but Jem caught his arm.

"No." He pulled the warlock back towards him and said, "Don't mention any of this to Tessa. Don't."

Magnus nodded. "Are you getting ill again?"

"I can't be. They found a cure. I'm okay." Jem said, but a part of him didn't believe it.

Magnus nodded slowly. "Okay, but if you feel off then I insist you tell Tessa."

Reluctantly, Jem agreed and allowed Magnus to escort him back to his room. When Jem got inside, he closed the door and locked it before going to the restroom. He looked at himself in the mirror, his skink was pale and his pupils large. His hands shook when he pushed his overlong dark hair back, it was strange to see dark brown instead of silvery white. He jumped when the door handle rattled.

"Who is it?" He called, turning off the light and heading to the door and opened it to find Tessa.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you, and I shouldn't have just gone off without you. Did you find your way back okay?" She asked, stepping past him into the room.

"Yeah, I found Church just behind the rocks, he must have followed us there so I followed him back." Jem tried his best to hide his face.

"Well, that's good then. We can start all over together." She said, and began changing for bed. Jem turned around as she slipped her night top over her head.

She climbed into bed, locking eyes with him. He leaned over to her and brushed his lips against hers. She put her hands around his neck and pulled him closer, their lips met again but this time more feverishly. Jem remembered the last time they kissed, it was in his room in the London institute and he remembered that he'd thought of it as his last before he died. In a way it was.

"Tess," he gasped and she put her hands at the hem of his shirt and pulled. Lips still glued together, Jem let go of her waist and pulled his shirt over his head, only breaking apart for him to pull it off throw it on the floor. Tessa moved closer to him and he climbed onto the bed properly. His hands found her night top and pulled at it, she understood and pulled it off. Her hands ran up and down Jem's flat stomach and back, down to Jems waist where she tucked her fingers into the belt loops on his jeans. They still weren't close enough. Jem's hands went to the bra strap on Tessa's back and pulled. He secretly thanked the style change that got rid of corsets. The bra unclipped and Jem moved to lie on top of her. She stopped kissing him for a moment to tug at his jeans again. Jem obliged and took them off before lying back down again. Tessa somehow managed to pull off her shorts and Jem kissed her with more desperation and passion than he ever had before. Tessa said his name and he nodded, he felt her smile under his lips.


	6. Chapter 5 : Ghostly Advice

A week later and Tessa woke up in a tangle of sheets and Jem in the new day's sunlight. She rolled over and got out of bed, picking up her dressing gown off the hook by the door as she made her way to the restroom. She turned on the shower and climbed in, relaxing in the warmth of the water. She stood for a moment in the water before reaching for the shampoo to wash her hair. The shampoo ran down her face and into her eye and she closed it as it stung. After rinsing her hands in the shower water, she tried to clean the suds from her eyes. However, every time she tried to open them to clean it, the shampoo dug deeper into her eye and her body reaction took over and closed them. Instead, she climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself with her eye clamped shut. She walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. That seemed to work. She opened her eye and blinked to clear her vison before reaching out to clear the mirror. She dragged her hand across the steamy surface and screamed. In the reflection behind her stood Will; he looked like he had when she first met him, young and beautiful, dark hair messy on his head and blue eyes shining out at her. She turned around as the door flew open and Jem burst in, seraph blade glowing in his right hand. He looked like he was in the process of getting dressed but had abandoned the effort halfway through putting his jeans on.

"What happened?" Jem asked, looking around for an intruder. Tessa was still staring at the place Will had stood; he had seemed so real and so angry.

"I got shampoo in my eye," Tessa said, but to her own ears her voice sounded a million miles away.

"And you screamed because?" Jem's hand fell to his side and the blade stopped glowing.

"It hurt," Tessa said, pulling the towel around her, "a lot." She added when Jem's face looked unconvinced. "Why do you have a seraph blade?"

"I keep it under the bed." He said, "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Jem asked as she pushed past him into the room and headed for the set of drawers they shared.

She didn't answer him but got dressed in silence and when they were both presentable, Jem lead the way to the kitchen.

When they arrived, they found that Alec and Jace had begun a pancake flipping contest whilst Magnus sat at the table muttering something to Clary who was drawing on a piece of paper. When they came in, everyone froze.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," Tessa said into the silence, she looked around the room and saw the boy she had almost killed the previous day "especially to you-" She stopped when she realised she didn't know the boy's name.

"Simon." The boy said, walking towards her with a smile on his face and his hand out in greeting. "Simon Lewis."

"I'm sorry Simon." She said again, and meant it. Jem walked past her towards the table where Magnus and Clary sat.

"Nah," he said, waving his hand. "Don't worry about it."

"You do remember don't you? I tried to kill you." Tessa said confused as to why Simon wasn't angry at her.

"Yeah, I remember." He said, shrugging, "I also remember how I felt when I almost killed a mundane."

"What are you?" Tessa said, not meaning it to come out so harshly. She clapped a hand to her mouth.

"A vampire," Simon said, opening his mouth and lowering his fangs. Tessa lowered her hands. "I'm a daylighter, to be precise."

"How are you in here?" She asked, leaning against the wall. Simon slumped a little and leaned on the counter behind him.

"I've started working with the Clave, checking in with the vampire clans and reporting the disappearances." He said, pulling up his sleeve revealing a twisting black design on his inner arm, "Then they asked Clary to create a rune that let me walk on hallowed grounds as payment."

"So they're paying you by asking someone to do something for you?" Tessa said, and Simon's face clouded over with confusion.

"Yeah… I guess they are. Clary, did you know that?" He turned around and Clary looked up from her paper and smiled at Simon,

"Know what?" She asked looking nervous.

"Know that the Clave asked you to help me as payment for me helping them?" He walked over to her and looked at the paper, "What's that?"

She snatched it up. "Nothing. And yes, I did. I just didn't think you were stupid enough to accept it."

"Of course he's stupid," Jace said from the cooker, "he's Simon."

"Jace," Alec scorned but Tessa could see his shoulders bouncing as he laughed quietly.

Tessa smiled to herself and walked over to where Jem was. She snaked her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. She could feel him blush.

"Oh, still stuck in the old days are you James?" Magnus laughed, Jem blushed harder.

"Public displays of affection in a stranger's kitchen are perfectly acceptable in these times," Tessa said, kissing his cheek.

"When we're you two born then?" Simon asked, nodding in their direction.

Tessa smiled and let go of Jem, "1862" she said and Jem said, "1860"

"So, you're like what-" Simon started, but stopped when it came to the math,

"146, Simon," Jace said, putting pancakes on to plates.

"Then why do you look 17." Simon asked sitting on the chair beside Clary and taking a plate from Jace.

"Because," Jem said, taking one for himself, "Tessa doesn't age and I didn't until recently."

"He was a Silent Brother," Tessa said, shaking her head at Jace's chocolate covered pancakes. "I don't like chocolate."

"You're an immortal being, married to a Shadowhunter-" Simon said, counting off on his fingers until Jace interrupted,

"You don't like chocolate?!" He said, almost dropping the plates he carried on his arms. Tessa shook her head.

"Weird child," he muttered as he walked away.

"I heard you," Tessa shouted after him, "And I'll have you know young man, I'm older than you."

Jace picked up his plate and laughed. It was strange, they all seemed to be in good spirits today, not giving each other devil eyes or slipping death threats under the table. To Tessa, it seemed like they were good friends.

Jem took a mouthful of pancake to his mouth and chewed it slowly, looking around at everyone. He had the same thoughts as Tessa but playing on the edge of his mind was his coughing fit from the previous night. He put his fork down suddenly and raised a hand to his mouth, begging the rising cough back. Tessa had begun talking to Simon and Clary about the missing vampires and didn't notice Jem as he paled. Magnus' was watching him from under his eyelids and Jace also had eyes on him. Jem felt like he was about to throw up, like he'd felt after the whiskey and got up suddenly. Tessa stopped talking and looked at him, just in time to see him begin coughing and convulsed over. After all the time she'd spent with him before, she knew what was happening. Tessa laid a hand on his back and patted it, helping the cough to rise. Jem stopped for a moment and tried to stand up but then fell to the ground. His head hit the tiled floor with a sickening crack. Clary called out Alec ran to fetch Maryse. Tessa sat down on the ground as Jem stared up at her. There was a moment when everything seemed to freeze and Tessa found herself trapped in a nightmare. Tessa put a hand on Jems forehead and felt the burning, Clary was trying to get her stele to draw a healing rune on Jem's arm but every time she finished it it sunk into the skin, Jace was shouting for Alec to call the Silent Brothers and Magnus had slowly backed out of the room. The Jem began to spasm.

Tessa felt herself be pulled back by Simon, away from Jem's legs which were now flailing around wildly. His arms were frozen by his sides and eyes were open wide and full of fear. Tessa tried to move towards him, to comfort him, but Simon kept a tight grip on Tessa's arms. She screamed and the sound seemed to make everyone around her stop. She felt her skin grow red hot and Simon released her, howling out in pain. She crawled towards Jem and shook his shoulders. Arms went around her, strong arms full of marks and scars. Tessa screamed again as she recognised long slender piano playing fingers. Wills hands. Jace didn't let go even when Tessa tried to set fire to her skin again. She kept calling out and screaming until Magnus came back with a little box. Tessa recognised it immediately and screamed even louder. Jace rocked back, but tightened his grip around Tessa.

"Please Magnus!" Tessa screamed. Tears rolling down her face "don't make him go back there! I CAN'T LOSE HIM AGAIN!" She pulled at Jace's arms but he didn't move. She them realised that Alec had a hold of her as well. She used all her energy to burst her skin into flames. No real fire was created but the heat was enough to scold but Alec and Jace. Simon tried again; he reached for her and swung her around. Pulling her against him, he wrapped his arms around her to keep her still. He tried not to use all his vampire strength, but it was clear that all of it was necessary. Tessa thought of Will, of Will helping Jem by giving him the contents of the little box and of Jem relaxing after it. Magnus had some of the powder in his hand and was using magic to keep Jem still. Magnus put the powder next to Jem's nose and when Jem inhaled the powder went with it. She tried the fire again, but nothing happened so Tessa did the only thing she could think off. She bit Simon.

He let her go and she ran to the now still Jem. She put her hand on his head and sighed as she felt is temperature was lowering. Then she turned on Magnus. Her rage at him seemed to fill her energy back up and she thrust her hands forwards into the empty space in front of her, causing Magnus to fly backwards and become pinned to the wall.

"How long did you know?!" She shouted, ignoring the calls from Alec.

"About a week," Magnus struggled to say.

"A week of him suffering and you didn't tell me?!"

"He didn't want you to worry," Magnus' voice was getting weaker.

"AND LOOK WHERE THAT GOT HIM!"

She could hear Alec getting angrier and Jace was now trying to hold him back. Maryse had finally turned up and was now stood with Clary looking shocked and confused. Tessa took one final look at Magnus before dropping her hands and allowing him to fall to the ground. Alec rushed over to him and looked him up and down.

Felling utterly drained, Tessa sat down on the floor and put her hand on Jems face. It was as pale as the white tiles he was lay on. His dark hair made his face look like porcine, delicate but beautiful. She pushed his hair back and asked quietly for a wet cloth. It was Maryse who obliged. Tessa dabbed it on Jem's head and felt his pulse - which was fast but not alarmingly so. When she looked up she found that everyone had left and the only person still there was Will.

"Will?" Tessa said, and her smiled at her. "Will, is that you? Really you?"

"No," Will said, sitting opposite Tessa on the other side of Jem. "I died, and then woke up here."

"How long have you been here?" Tessa asked, unable to stop looking at him.

"About a year, I don't know. Time passes differently where I am." Will looked down at his Parabatai and smiled. "It took you long enough to see me."

"You've been trying to contact me?" Tessa said, but it came out more like a question.

"Yes. I put '_A tale of two cities'_ in the library and nudged you to find it. Then I remembered telling Jem to play his violin in there because all the books dampened the sound and that reduced the risk of cats lining up outside the door." Will laughed. "I've been leaving little clues from the moment you got here."

"The ducks. On the roof." Tessa said, feeling her heart contract.

"That one took a lot of time." Will picked up the box - well tried to, but his hand went right through it. "But what can I say? I know the Herondales."

"Why are you like this?" Tessa asked, picking up the box herself. She opened it and saw that it was full of _yin fen_. "How did Magnus get all of this?"

"When Mortmain was killed, the supply of _yin fen_ was given to the warlocks for safe keeping. I felt like Jem would need it, like I felt when Jem was getting ill when I was still alive, so I contacted Magnus and poked him in the direction of keeping some of it." Tessa noticed that he didn't answer the first question and was about to call him up on it when Jem stirred and opened his eyes.

"Tess," He tried to say, but coughed slightly, and Tessa could see how much it hurt him to move.

"Shh," she soothed, stroking his face, "It's okay. It's all going to be okay. I promise."

She looked back at Will to find he was gone and in his place sat Church, who pawed at Jem and then slunk off into the shadows.

"Tessa," he said again, stronger this time, "I'm sorry."

"Jem, it's okay. Just rest."

"But, the cure. It didn't work did it?" Jem asked, but Tessa knew that he knew the answer.

"No." She shook her head, "No, it didn't work."


	7. Chapter 6 : Memory Loss and Delusions

***If you're reading this as it is posted, then I apologize for the wait. I had next to no time to sit and write. next chapter should be up on Saturday 13th**  
**If you're reading this at your leisure and there are many more chapters after this, then I apologize for the interruption :)***

Jem was carried back to his room by Alec and Jace when he woke up, but not before telling everyone that he was okay and could walk. No one took any notice of his arguments. Tessa had started to follow when Clary had called her over.

"The Silent Brothers want to talk to you about Jem." She said quietly.

Tessa nodded and followed Clary into the hall. There stood Brother Enoch, his hood was down and his bald head covered in marks was on show. Clary left to give them some privacy.

_It is most unfortunate to hear about Brother Zachariah. _

"It's Jem. He's mortal now." Tessa reminded him.

_He will always be Brother Zachariah to us in the Brotherhood. Tessa, will you please take me to him. _

Tessa obliged and lead him to the room that she and Jem shared. Jem was lying on the bed with his eyes closed and face pale. Jace watched him from the window and Alec was next to him and was staring confusedly at the box which he held open in his hands. Tessa ran across the room.

"Neither of you two touches this. Ever. Do you understand? This can kill Shadowhunters." Tessa said snatching the box and slamming it shut.

"Then why did Magnus give some to Jem." Jace asked.

"That is none of your business." Tessa said, thickening her American accent the way she did when she wanted to sound intimidating. It worked - at least on Jace and Alec. Clary seemed unfazed as she walked in past Brother Enoch.

"It is our business." Clary said reappearing beside Brother Enoch. "If there are Downworlder giving Shadowhunters things that could kill them then it becomes Shadowhunter business."

_Rest assured Shadowhunters. I have worked with Jem Carstairs on this matter before. It does not concern the Shadowhunters of New York. _

Tessa breathed a sigh of relief. "Please, can you not touch this box?" Tessa repeated, setting it down on the table beside the bed.

Alec nodded but Jace didn't move. "He won't touch it either." Alec said, filling in for Jace.

"Can you not talk for me?" Jace said, his usual brooding look not fading.

Tessa heard a laugh and turned around to see Will. He was smirking at Jace as he began to tell Alec where he could stick his stele.

"Herondales. Wit and sarcasm runs in the blood don't you think?" He asked, but Tessa knew not to answer or risk sounding crazy. Tessa laid a hand on Jems arm and swallowed down a lump in her throat. "He'll be okay Tess."

"Jem?" Jem's hand twitched and Tessa grabbed it as his eyes flickered open. "You're okay,"

"Tess," he croaked and Tessa leaned in close so that he could be heard. Jace and Alec didn't know what to do with themselves and Tessa could hear them muttering behind her. "It hurts," Jem whispered and Tessa felt tears sting her eyes.

"I know. Brother Enoch is here to help you. What can I do to make it better?" She felt like she was talking to a three year old and upon remembering when Jem had said in the park she instantly felt bad.

Jem didn't seem to realise, his head had rolled to face me. His eyes were wet and his gaze unfocused. It wasn't until he moved his arm towards Tessa that she realised he wasn't looking at her, but past her, at something on the table. He tried to speak but all that came out was a croak so he gestured with his head towards the table. Tessa turned and looked at the only object there - the little silver box.

"Jem," Magnus said, stepping towards the bed and putting his long fingered hands on the bed frame, "I must tell you that you have already had a dose today."

Jems head turned to face him, "why?" he croaked and Tessa put a hand around Jem's.

"You were fitting. Your airways would have closed off if I had not acted." Magnus hung his head.

_He's right James Carstairs _Brother Enoch said and Jem looked at him,

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Tessa asked to the room, no one answered.

Jem gave a rasping breath and closed his eyes against the pain. He felt like all his bones were on fire. Tessa's hand on his felt cold but he could feel his own heat against it and pulled his hand away.

"Please," He said, "leave me," he opened his eyes to find that everyone had already left. Tessa was asleep in the chair beside him and it was dark outside the window. He lifted his head and struggled to sit upright. The fire in his bones had lessened and he reached across to shake Tessa's leg. She woke up with a start.

"James," she said, leaning closer to him.

"Tessa, where did everyone go?" Jem looked around the room confused and Tessa's face grew more and more concerned.

"Jem, you've been asleep for three days." Tessa saw the fear spread over Jems face.

"This is all happening too fast," Jem said, shaking his head. Asleep for three days?! "Where's the Silent Brother?"

"He worked whilst you were sleeping. He said there was nothing he could do. The cure didn't work."

"Am I going to die?" He asked, and Tessa saw tears fill his eyes.

"Jem," she said quietly,

"Am I?" He persisted.

"Not if I can do anything about it."

Tessa got up and ran across the room opening the door and allowing it to slam behind her. Jem got up slower and pulled on shorts before following her.

Tessa was walking past the kitchen before she realised that she was utterly helpless. Her breath caught in her throat and she stopped in her tracks. The tears came quick and fast and they spilled over before she could stop them. She heard Clary say her name but Tessa didn't respond. She sat down against the wall and put her head in her hands, letting the tears come.

Clary crouched beside Tessa and put a hand on her shoulder, she had seen her mother like this before - every year on her brother's birthday - but this was different. Tessa was her age but much older but Clary knew the pain she was going through for Clary had lost Jace right before her eyes and could understand how Tessa was feeling. But Jace had died quickly, Jem was dying slowly.

"Do you need anything?" Clary asked but Tessa shook her head. "Do you want me to fetch anyone?" Again, Tessa shook her head.

Footsteps came down the hall and Clary turned to see a shirtless Jem running down behind her. He was breathing hard and had to put his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Jem, I don't think-" Clary started but Tessa had stood up at the sound of Jem's name.

"Are you _looking_ to kill yourself?!" Tessa shouted and Clary saw Alec poke his head out of the kitchen door before turning and waving his hands.

"Tess," Jem stood upright and Clary saw the marks on his bare chest. Some she recognised, others she didn't, but the one that shocked her the most, was the faded Parabatai mark on his left shoulder. "Tess, I'm okay. I was okay the last time. Will can explain how it was in the early days, he was there when-" He caught his breath.

Alec and Jace were now in the corridor with them, Tessa was still stood in the centre of the room crying and Clary now had her arm around her.

"You said Will." Tessa observed, "Will's dead. You know that."

Jem stood for a moment with an odd expression on his face, and then he turned to look at his reflection in the glass of the window.

Tessa put her hand on his shoulder and almost flinched at the heat radiating from him. He was staring at himself as if he'd never seen what he looked like, much less seen the faded rune on his shoulder. He placed his shaky hand on it and turned to look at Tessa. His face was emotionless and his eyes empty of life.

"Jem," Tessa said tentatively.

"Tess, I know." Jem shook his head and looked down at his hands. They were shaking like leaves in a hurricane. "I remember…"

He nodded and Maryse emerged with a Silent Brother.

_Memory loss and delusions… two of the main symptoms of withdrawal,_

Tessa felt tears in her eyes and Jem nodded.

"I have to have it again. Don't I?" Jem asked, looking Brother Enoch in the eyes.

The Silent Brother nodded and handed Jem the silver box. Jem took it in his hands and opened it.

"I've never seen so much in here," he said and Tessa looked in over his shoulder, "Magnus out did himself this time."

"He said yesterday that he'd been looking for a way to help you since he found you in the library." Alec said leaning against the wall, "He said that this _yin fen _could save your life."

"It can't, but it can prolong my life." Jem said, accepting a glass of water from Brother Enoch and putting some of the power in.

"How?" Clary asked, watching Jem's movements. Everyone looked at her in a way that said '_It's insensitive to ask_' but their faces held the same desire to know. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand."

"It's alright. Only normal for you to be curious." Jem laughed, handing the box to Tessa. "When I was a child, I was forced to consume demon poison in front of my parents by means to torture them by making me delirious and start hallucinating. The Clave then rescued me from the Shanghai Institute and took me to the Silent Brothers who tried to everything to cure me, but could not fix my body's dependence on the demon poison. I became addicted to the demon blood and will die without regular doses of it, but it would only ever prolong my death. It's slowly killing me, and there is no hope of a cure. Not anymore. When things got worse and my life was close to its end, the Silent Brothers stepped in with an offer, an offer to turn me into a Silent Brother and guarantee my survival. I took it, knowing I was dying and felt terrified to meet that end. I thought myself a coward for it, but knew of cure research going on within the Silent Brothers and I was desperate. My only worry was my partner in crime, my Parabatai - William Herondale. I knew that the Parabatai bond would break and he'd think me dead, but I then realised it was for the better. When your Jace Lightwood turned up, I knew who he was but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. I may be delusional, but I'm not a fool. I know that I'm going over stuff that some of you already know, but I just cannot keep lying to the people who have taken me in. I wish to help in whatever way I can. I am fit to go out with you should any trouble arise with these vampires. This drug is killing me, but it is also saving me."

Clarys eyes were wet and she played with her hands in front of her, Tessa watched as she moved forwards in front of Jem and threw her arm around his neck, pulling him down in to the hug. Jace and Alec shared a look and when they looked back at Jem, they seemed to have a look of respect on their faces.

"I know that was a lot. I know it was heavy but-" Jem never finished his sentence because at that moment a bang as loud as cannon fire exploded though the night and the Silent Brother and Clary fell to the ground. Blood pooled from the left side of the Silent Brother and Clary's arm had a neat puncture though it. She was trapped underneath Brother Enoch and Jace was trying to pull him off her when another bang went off and almost hit Jem. Magnus materialised beside Alec and said,

"The vampires are here. And they're pissed off. So, it's time to go."

Before waving his hands and covering them all in darkness.


	8. Chapter 7 : Escape Route

Chapter Seven: Escape Route

When the black smoke cleared, Tessa looked around. They were in a large circular room filled with fine furniture and decoration. There were three windows in the room and a door at the far end which must lead to the rest of the house. Outside the east window, there was a river - it shimmered in the moon light and rippled as a boat cut its way through. Looking around the room again, Tessa realised that this must me all the house there was and that the door lead to bedrooms. Next to the door was a kitchen that created a corner in the room. There were a few cupboards and a breakfast bar with chairs around it. Next to Tessa was a solid oak dining table with eight chairs around the sides and two at either end, seating ten in total. There was a fireplace in the centre and a love seat on one side with a coffee table in front. The sofa faced the fire and though it to the other side where the kitchen was. There was a rug under Tessa's feet and she looked down to see the dark swirling patterns of lines.  
Magnus had picked up a carrier bag from the floor and Tessa heard the clang of bottles within it as he placed it on the counter. Alec was talking to Jace in fast whispers as Jace carried Clary onto the sofa. Jem was stood behind Tessa looking lost and confused - _He's just watched his old friend die in front of him, the man who saved Jem's life is dead - _The thought ran through Tessa's head and she put her arms around him to comfort him. Jem's arms went around her but he seemed distracted.

"Alec, will you go away!" Jace was saying as he put Clary down. Alec shook his head and spun Jace around to face him.

"No. I understand Clary is hurt and you need to look after her, but will you just listen to me for a moment." Alec said, folding his arms across his chest. Tessa came over to help.

"I'll look after Clary," she said, Jace shot her a venomous look, "just whilst you're gone."

"Go, Jace." Clary said, allowing Tessa to look at her arm.

"She can't apply runes," Jace said, trying to find an excuse to stay.

"No, neither can you. Not until I get the bullet out of her arm." Tessa said, her voice dripping with a false hatred. It worked and Jace was dragged away.

"How deep is it?" Clary asked when they'd gone.

"Magnus, I need something to pull the bullet out." Tessa said and Magnus set to work rummaging through another bag. "Not very," she said to Clary, taking a pair of tweezers from Magnus, "these clean?"

"Yeah," Magnus said, offering his hand to Clary. "It's going to hurt."

"I know," Clary said, taking Magnus' hand and bracing herself against the pillows of the sofa, "But it needs taking out and the sooner the better."

Tessa put one arm on the back of the sofa to steady herself as she held the tweezers in her right hand and her left held Clary's arm in place. Clary's forehead was lined with sweat from the pain and her knuckles were white where she gripped Magnus' hand.

Jace and Alec were just coming around the corner as Tessa put the tweezers into Clary's arm. Tessa could see the bullet sat next to the bone and knew that if anyone was to jerk her or Clary, the bullet would go further in her upper arm. Clary bit though her lip trying to keep in her scream.

"Nearly got it," Tessa said, aware of Alec holding Jace back. "Jem, don't let him near us, I'm not convinced Alec's strong enough,"

She heard Jem get up from the chair at the breakfast bar and move over to help Alec. Jace swore fluently and Jem reprimanded him in Mandarin. Tessa understood Jem to be saying something that Charlotte would have been embarrassed to hear. Smiling to herself as Jace demanded a translation; Tessa pushed the tweezers slowly further into Clary's arm. This time, Clary did scream and Jace shouted even louder.

"Clary, don't move. I've got it." Tessa said, tightening her grip on Clary's arm. "Almost…got…it…Ha," Tessa pulled one last time, ignoring a scream from Clary, and out came a little silver bullet. She handed it to Magnus, who held it up against the light above them.

"Looks like what they use to bring down werewolves…" Magnus observed, "You were very lucky Clary."

"It did go through a Silent Brother before it hit Clary though," Tessa said, going to wash the blood from her hands.

"Must have been a powerful gun," Jem said, leaning against the fireplace.

"It's used to take down werewolves, Jem, of course its powerful," Magnus said, jabbing his hand towards the fire grate, flames jumped into life making Jem jump a little.

"Well, Clary's fine now," Alec said as Jace finished a healing rune on Clary's arm. "What are we going to do then?"

Everyone looked around at Magnus, who was taking bottles out of the bag. He froze in the act of pouring the contents into a glass.

"What?" he asked innocently,

"What exactly are we doing here?" Jem asked, walking over to Tessa and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We're hiding." Magnus said filling the other glasses, "from the vampires that are trying to kill us."

"What about Alec's parents, and Isabelle. Aren't they in danger?" Tessa asked taking one of Magnus' glasses.

"They're in Idris, I can get a message to them to stay put," Alec said with his hands deep in his pockets and his eyes on the back of Jace's head.

"What about Simon?" Clary asked from the sofa, using Jace as a support to sit upright. Tessa rushed over to set her back down.

"We should tell him to get over here, we could use him." Magnus said, "Alec, could you-"

"Already got it," he said, taking out his phone and punching in numbers. He held it to his ear and then went to stand the furthest away from the group.

"Is there any way you can call a favour in with the other warlocks, a way we can clear the vampires off without too much Clave involvement? We don't want to jeopardise the Accords." Jace asked, watching Alec pace out of the corner of his eye.

"No, they aren't exactly happy with my bringing you here." Magnus admitted.

"How do they know we're here already?" Jem asked, "And what's wrong with it?"

"This is a retreat for warlocks, not Shadowhunters and company. They know I'm here because the wards were breached." Magnus' eyes wandered to Alec who was shaking his head and saying the words 'No she can't' over and over again.

"Have you tried to contact them? Tell them that it was the only way to save us from vampires?" Jem asked, Tessa saw his hands start to shake.

"No need, we warlocks just _know_ about each other that way," Magnus said, running a hand though his hair.

"So we're screwed." Jem said and kicked the trash can beside him.

"Pretty much." Magnus took a swig from the bottle he was holding.

When Alec retuned, he told everyone that Simon was to join them the following day Maryse and Robert were to stay in Idris but Isabelle was determined to join them. It was also revealed where they were - a town in Germany called Boppard. Magnus' apartment over looked the river Rhine on a bend near a chair lift. To Tessa it all looked like the sorts of villages that she was used to before her life changing trip to London. After that, they all went to bed. There were 7 rooms in the apartment that all sat along a corridor with three bedrooms on each side and a bathroom at the end; Tessa and Jem took the second one on the left of Clary and Jace and the right of Alec whilst Magnus took one opposite them all. Tessa and Jem's room was like the ones at the institute; similar plain clothed bed, similar square window, similar fittings. It didn't however have an adjoining bathroom which made Tessa wonder what it'd be like in the morning with all of them scrambling for a shower. Tessa's second worry was the amount of _yin fen_ they had and if Jem was even going to take it. They had enough with them to last two weeks but with the institute barred off and Magnus' exile from the warlocks - a note came not twenty minutes after their arrival stating what Magnus had already said about his being-in-the-bad-books - Tessa was unsure how well they'd cope.

Jem lay in bed looking up at the ceiling. Tessa was asleep beside him and he could feel her slow breaths on his shoulder. They'd fallen asleep in each other's arms, scared and afraid. Jem was mostly confused. He'd wondered how the vampires even got near the window to shoot through it. They couldn't walk on hallowed ground and they sure as hell couldn't grow wings and fly. He carefully disentangled himself from Tessa and got out of bed. He looked across the room at the dressing gown but then didn't bother and opened the door to venture out in just his boxer shorts. He caught a glimpse of himself in the dark window and instantly regretted his decision to abandon the gown. His skin was pasty pale and his face had begun to hollow out a little in his eyes. He told himself that it was just the lack of sleep and was about to turn to go back in his room when the door on his right and Alec walked out. He was wearing a shirt at least.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Jem asked, feeling awkward.

"No, I was about to go to the bathroom," He said clearly unsure of what to do with himself. Alec gestured at him, "you?" Jem shrugged and filled himself with a Will like ability to shrug off awkwardness

"I couldn't sleep so I'm off on a wander." Jem said, turning and walking towards the living room.

"Magnus is in there," Alec said and Jem turned around.

"What?" He said,

"Magnus," Alec said again, "he's in the living room."

"Oh," Jem said, unsure why Alec was telling him this. Regardless Jem pushed open the door to the living room to find Magnus standing with a lot of other people.

They all turned when Jem opened the door and Jem saw that they all had odd facial features - Warlock marks. Slowly, he backed out of the living room and closed the door. Alec was stood there smiling stupidly to himself.

"Told you. They're all here to complain at Magnus for bringing us here. Our fates shall be decided tomorrow." He said, before walking away from Jem and to a door on the end of the hall.

Jem turned around and went back to bed. It took a long time for Jem to fall back to sleep, but when he did, he dreamt of flying vampires and angry warlocks.

"Well, its official," Magnus said solemnly entering the apartment though the wall, "the warlocks have disowned me."

"That's a bit extreme isn't it?" Alec said, taking a sip from a steaming mug of coffee.

It was the following morning and everyone - after fighting over bathroom rights as Tessa guessed the previous night - had gathered in the sitting room with various hot drinks. Simon and Isabelle had not yet arrived but Alec had assured that they'd be with them before lunch. Jem had stated that it would be unlikely given the fact that it's sunny today. Everyone had laughed and when Jem stood there confused, they'd said to wait until Simon was here to explain.

"They're warlocks, they're always extreme," Jace said from the sofa which he and Clary were curled up on - Clary still in her night clothes.

Magnus made a noise of offence in the back of his throat and Tessa laughed. "I'll have you know, I can kick you out on your ear and earn the warlocks forgiveness if I so wish."

"But you won't do that will you?" Alec said with a smug smile on his face.

"Don't tempt me."

"Remember, Magnus," Tessa said and Magnus turned around, "I too am a warlock." Magnus was about to speak but Tessa raised her hand. "And everyone can stay on my invitation."

Jem tapped Tessa on the shoulder as Alec and Magnus began to argue, playfully with each other, but before he could say anything, Clary shouted out and jumped from the sofa. Tessa turned to see two figures walking through the wall. Simon walked backwards into the room looking up at the non-existent door with amazement on his face.

"SIMON!" She shouted, throwing her arms around his neck. Simon's arms went around her and he dug his head into her shoulder. Isabelle walked in afterwards and hugged Alec. Simon and Clary were only just letting go as Jace wandered over. Simon nodded curtly at Jace and threw a smile at everyone else. He listened in to Alec then laughed and headed towards Jem and Tessa. There was a patch of sunlight on the floor from the open window and Simon stopped just in front of it. Jems hand was wrapped protectively around Tessa's.

"I assume you can walk in the sunlight." Jem said, gulping nervously before channelling his inner Will and deciding not to be bothered.

"Yes. I can." Simon said, holding his hand out so that it cast a shadow on the floor in the pool of sunlight. "We've met, sort of."

"Only when Tessa attempted to murder you, so not formally," Jem said, reaching out for Simons hand and shaking it. "I'm Jem Carstairs."

"Simon Lewis," Simon nodded then in Tessa's direction. "Eternity sucks doesn't it?" He said and Tessa decided to play along.

"I thought I'd have to spend all eternity with Magnus as company, you'll stick around won't you?" She said, mock flirting. Jems grip tightened and Isabelle stepped forwards. Clary was about to when Jace put an arm around her. Magnus was looking at Alec and tried to gage his reaction before he walked over and planted a kiss on his lips.

Everyone turned to look as Alec's arms went around Magnus' neck and they began to engulf one another. Tessa cocked her head sideways, utterly confused by the act. Simon, pleased with what he thought to have pulled off smiled and grabbed Isabelle's hand. When they broke apart, Alec looked stunned.

"From the moment I arrived in America I wanted to do that." Magnus stated and everyone backed out of the room slowly, giving Alec and Magnus some much needed space.


End file.
